1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a molded outer covering, in particular having an outer surface with a pepper and salt pattern having different colours.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various interior devices of an automobile, such as an instrument panel, or outer surface of a door trim or an interior ceiling are usually covered with an outer covering to provide a comfortable compartment to a driver or passanger.
Known outer coverings for an automobile are usually made of a plastic sheet which is, in turn, made by a calendar machine and which is molded into a desired shape in a vacuum forming process or the like.
However, it is only possible to make a plastic outer covering having a single colour or a few limited colours by the vacuum process of a plastic sheet, and accordingly, molded products obtained often result in lack of variety in colour and pattern. Furthermore, a compartment of an automatic tends to become dirty or unclean by mud or dust which enters the compartment when a door of the automobile is opened or closed or when a passanger gets in or out of the automobile. In addition to the foregoing, the plastic product tends to become charged with static electricity, so that the dust or dirt can be easily applied to the outer surfaces of the plastic product. The applied dust or the dirt is conspicuous, in view of the lack of variety in the colour or pattern of the plastic covering, thus resulting in a bad influence on the aesthetic impression of the compartment.